


Cupcakes and Roses

by monbebearmy1996



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, JooHyuk, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:29:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21978862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monbebearmy1996/pseuds/monbebearmy1996
Summary: A bakery moves in down the street from Jooheon's flower shop, and the owner is breathtaking. A friendship develops into something more, but not without a few bumps in the road.
Relationships: Chae Hyungwon/Lee Hoseok | Wonho, Im Changkyun | I.M/Lee Jooheon, Lee Jooheon/Lee Minhyuk, Son Hyunwoo | Shownu/Yoo Kihyun
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	Cupcakes and Roses

Jooheon is bent over a flower display in one of the fridges, swiping at his black hair irritably every time it falls into his eyes, when he hears the tinkle of the front door bell, signalling someone’s entrance. “Hello, I’ll be right with you!” Fixing the last flower, he wipes his hands on his apron and turns around to attend to the customer. As he sees who it is, he smiles warmly at the newcomer. 

A bakery had opened down the street, after being vacated many times before. Jooheon was starting to think the building had been cursed or something. The new bakery had been the only business in the last 5 years to last more than a year. The owner, a tall, pretty blonde man named Minhyuk, had come in once before to get a bouquet for his grandmother’s funeral. Then a few weeks later, the man had come in to set up an arrangement for Jooheon to stock the bakery with flowers in the window to make it seem more welcoming. 

It must have worked, because it’s been two years now and the bakery is still going strong. Though it could be more the fact that Minhyuk was a bakery God, and not the flowers. When Minhyuk spots him he grins. “There you are! I couldn’t see you. Good business today?” It was still only 8 in the morning, just a few minutes after Jooheon opened up. 

“Well seeing as how I literally just unlocked the doors, not really. I’ve just been rearranging some displays, there’s one in the fridge back there where one of the roses just doesn’t want to cooperate. How about you? Slow morning, then?” Minhyuk sighs and nods sadly. “Yeah, weekday mornings are usually a little slower, and the snow outside isn’t helping. No one wants to come in. So I decided to leave Kihyun in charge for a few minutes. I need a bouquet for this weekend.” 

Jooheon nods and comes around to stand in front of Minhyuk. “Okay, what’s the occasion?” All business, Jooheon starts to think of different flower bouquets he has in stock for different possible occasions. He’s not expecting the answer, though. “I have a date this Saturday, and I want it to be perfect. I don’t normally get flowers for dates, but I like this one a lot so I want to impress them.” 

Jooheon feels his heart drop slightly, but shakes it off and puts on his customer smile. “Okay, I have some date worthy bouquet’s in the fridge back here, follow me.” Minhyuk follows Jooheon back to one of the fridges lining along the far left wall. Dozens of bouquets adorn the shelves, ranging in a rainbow of colors. Little cards at the foot of each vase state what flowers are included and meanings. 

Jooheon stops in front of a door with at least 6 different vases with a lot of pink. Jooheon opens the door and grabs the card to one with almost all pink flowers. “This one is basically all about new love. The dark pink peonies are mostly representing tenderness and fondness. Lavender roses mean love at first sight and charm. The pink ranunculus’s mean love and gentle feelings. The white carnations mean new love, and then there’s baby’s breath to tie it all together. Baby’s breath is usually used in weddings and various other bouquets like that cause it symbolizes long lasting love. You can look at the others, but if you really like this person I would definitely recommend this one.” 

Minhyuk takes a look at the rest of the bouquets, reading each meaning and looking at every different flower, but decides to choose the one Jooheon picked out. “Okay, I think I’ll stick with your opinion. You’re the professional, not me!” Jooheon chuckles and carries the vase over to the counter. “I’ll put this in the fridge in the back so no one buys it on accident. It’s not very old, so they’ll last a while. And you’re picking it up in two days anyway, so even better.” 

Jooheon gives him a discount, and gets the order rung up. As Minhyuk leaves, he waves goodbye with a cheerful smile and walks back down to his bakery. Jooheon slaps on a cheery smile and waves him away, but as soon as Minhyuk is out of sight, his smile drops into a sad grimace. 

It’s been a little over a year since Jooheon had met Minhyuk. A tall, lean man with blonde hair and pretty features that stole Jooheon’s breath the moment he saw him. He remembered when the man had walked in on a warm August afternoon, looking sad and lost. Minhyuk had seen Jooheon’s little flowery and had been meaning to stop by and say hello. When Minhyuk had said the flowers were for his grandmother’s funeral the first time he came in, Jooheon had given him a large display for free. “Consider it a token of my condolences.” Jooheon had told him. Minhyuk had tried to tell him that “it’s fine, really”, but Jooheon insisted. 

When Minhyuk had come in those few weeks later, Jooheon was thrilled to see him in higher spirits. “I’m here to offer you a proposition!” And thus, Jooheon had taken on a regular customer. The flowers in the bakery needed to be replaced at least twice a week in the beginning, and it was starting to add up cost wise, so Jooheon had offered to sell him some flowers he could plant in little pots in the windows, instead. If the flowers started to droop and Minhyuk didn’t know why, he would enlist Jooheon’s help. 

Over the course of time, Minhyuk had come in for other reasons than to just get flowers. He and Jooheon had started a sort of friendship. Minhyuk was a very energetic man, always loud and always hyper. Jooheon was energetic as well, but a little more grounded. Minhyuk’s best friend and business partner, Kihyun, joked that the two were a match made in heaven. Jooheon had enough energy to keep up with the tall male, and enough patience to keep the older from becoming too much. 

Jooheon’s older brother Hyunwoo had helped out in the flower shop a few times, and had met Minhyuk and Kihyun. Hyunwoo and Kihyun got along very quickly, and before the other two knew it, started dating. Kihyun had jokingly asked Jooheon on multiple occasions when the four would go on a double date. _Going off the last few minutes, never_ Jooheon thought bitterly. 

He can’t blame anyone but himself. For a man who raps in the underground during his free time, Jooheon was rather shy. When he first saw Minhyuk, sad and alone when he came in, he decided to try his best and lift a little of the other’s sadness. He looked too precious to be sad. Offering to give the flowers hadn’t really been a big deal, he made plenty of money with other customers to make up for it, but seeing the man smile a little in appreciation was worth all the ₩on in the world.

Minhyuk was just a beautiful man, inside and out. He had an amazing soul, and he was absolutely gorgeous. Sure he was more on the hyper side when he’s not sad, but he’s the kindest soul you’d ever meet, when he’s not playing a prank on you. But that’s a different story. 

Somewhere along the way, as they talked more and became closer, Jooheon had developed a crush on the older male. He knew the older liked men, because they had discussed it once when Minhyuk had walked in jumping up and down squealing that “Kim Hyun-Joong came into my bakery this morning!!! _KIM HYUN-JOONG, JOOHEON!!!_ ” When Jooheon had looked at him blankly for a minute, Minhyuk gasped dramatically. 

“You don’t know who he is?! Oh no, we have to fix that.” And promptly pulled out his phone and introduced him to SS501 and his show _Boys Over Flowers_. “He’s only the hottest man to ever grace this planet???” Jooheon had scoffed at that and stated “No, Kim Namjoon is the hottest man to ever grace this planet.” The two had a heated debate after that, arguing who was the hotter celebrity, even dragging in celebrities from other countries.

“I’m just saying, I don’t care what I’m doing, if Ryan Reynolds wanted to bend me over his desk, I’d let him happily.” Jooheon barked out a loud laugh at that, and the pair burst into giggles. “Nah, if we’re talking American actors now, I’d have to go with Chris Pratt.” Minhyuk thinks and nods in ascent. “Yeah, I can get that. The Jurassic World guy, right? He looks GOOD for being older.” The pair burst into another fit of giggles and sit in comfortable silence as Jooheon arranges another bouquet.

********************

Saturday comes by in the blink of an eye. Minhyuk says he will come by to pick up the bouquet around 6 in the evening. Having lost track of the time, Jooheon is in the middle of cutting rose stems when the door swings open, scaring the younger. Who, admittedly, is easy to scare. “Ah, shit! Ow... “ Looking down at his now bleeding finger, Jooheon has a split second to berate himself for not wearing gloves when Minhyuk gasps and flies over. 

“Oh no are you okay? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you!” Minhyuk grabs a tissue from the counter and brings it over to Jooheon. Taking it gratefully, he wraps it around his finger and smiles at Minhyuk in appreciation. “Thanks, I’ll go slap a bandaid on it and grab your bouquet.” Jooheon walks to the back and slips a bandaid on his finger, then goes to grab the flower arrangement. He stands them in a metal cone and wraps plastic around the stems, then pulls it out to tie up. 

Jooheon brings the newly wrapped bouquet out and hands it over to Minhyuk. “Thanks Jooheon! I’ll let you know how it goes!” Inwardly grimacing at the thought of listening to Minhyuk gush over a man who isn’t Jooheon, the younger slaps on a smile and says goodbye. Just as Minhyuk goes to turn around, Jooheon spots a man outside and his jaw drops.

Minhyuk notices this, and looks around, trying to see what made Jooheon look suddenly so shocked. “What? What are you looking at?” The older turns around to look at Jooheon, but finds empty air. He looks around, and sees Jooheon on the ground behind the counter. “What are you doing?” Jooheon peeks up at Minhyuk and says “Is that your date outside?” Minhyuk looks behind him at his date, Changkyun, outside waiting. “Yes, why?” Jooheon groans and hurriedly says “nothing, get out there, you don’t want to make him wait too long.” 

Minhyuk looks down at Jooheon in startled confusion, then shrugs and says “goodbye!” and heads outside. Jooheon raises his head to peek outside, and he makes momentary eye contact with Changkyun as he and Minhyuk walk away down the street. Of course Minhyuk had a date with Changkyun. The universe already proved it hated him. What a shock Changkyun must have had when Minhyuk walked inside. 

The two had dated for a few years, but they had been friends since elementary school. It was Changkyun who had convinced Jooheon to take part in the underground rap battles. It was Changkyun who had introduced him to love. And it was Changkyun who had broken his heart. A particularly dreary night, Changkyun had come over for their traditional Friday night movie marathons. A thing that had been going on long before they dated. 

Jooheon could feel something was off, but elected to ignore it. Changkyun was very private, so Jooheon knew if the younger wanted to talk about it he would. And he did. Oh he certainly did. “Jooheon, I need to tell you something.” Suddenly, Jooheon didn’t feel so good. His first thought was that Changkyun had gotten drunk and cheated on him, but Jooheon expelled the memory immediately. Changkyun would never do that. 

“I got drunk last night, and Hyungwon made a move on me.” Or maybe he would. 

Jooheon turned slowly to look at his boyfriend, staring unseeingly at Changkyun as he waited for Changkyun to continue. Pleadingly, Changkyun had grasped Jooheon’s hands and frantically tried to explain. “I swear, it was never my intention to sleep with him! Hyungwon and I had too much to drink, and one thing led to another… I woke up the next morning naked… And I could remember snippets of what had happened the night before…Oh God I’m so sorry Jooheon!” 

Jooheon sat there and stared blankly at a now hysterically sobbing Changkyun. Inside, he could feel something break. His heart, maybe? He wasn’t sure. “Um. Okay. That’s a lot to take in right now. Have you- Have you spoken to Hyungwon about this?” Hyungwon was also Jooheon’s friend, but the younger was seriously debating that fact right about now. “Yes, we talked and he’s going to talk to you tomorrow too. Please Jooheon, I’m so sorry… I didn’t mean for this to happen, I never wanted to hurt you.” Changkyun now had silent tears running down his cheeks as he looked imploringly at Jooheon. 

Slowly, Jooheon raised his hand and wiped away the tears. Changkyun pressed his face into Jooheon’s hand, grabbing it and holding it there while he sobs into Jooheon’s hand. Jooheon pulls him closer and lets him sob, as he feels tears of his own slip down his cheeks. A clap of thunder booms in the distance as if also in pain from the mistake.

The two had tried to let it pass, they really did. But every time Jooheon saw Hyungwon, he couldn’t escape the thought that one of his best friends had sex with his boyfriend. His whole world. And that thought awoke a vicious anger at his friend. He knows it’s a little unfair, they had both been drunk, but it still happened and it will never have not happened again. One night, Jooheon and Changkyun had gotten into a wall rattling fight that changed things forever. 

“Dammit Jooheon, I told you I’m sorry! It’s been three months, now! You don’t have to look so god damned terrified every time I tell you I’m going out to drink!” Jooheon looks at his boyfriend, his best friend of so many years, in astonished disbelief. “You can’t tell me that if this scenario were switched around you wouldn’t be the exact same fucking way. Dammit, Changkyun, it’s _only_ been three months! Do you know how I feel everytime I see Hyungwon? When I’m with you and Hyungwon _together?_ So don’t stand there and tell me that if I had slept with, I don’t know, Hoseok, you wouldn’t feel the same! Picture it. How would you handle it if I came to you crying and told you that Hoseok and I had gotten drunk and had sex.” 

Jooheon could see the images run through Changkyun’s mind and watched as he looked more and more sick. “Okay fine, I don’t like it. What do you propose we do, then, Jooheon?” Jooheon noticed how tired Changkyun sounded. He knew how sorry Changkyun was that he had cheated. He tried to keep the relationship together, he really did. He loved Changkyun more than anything. But something had broken inside his heart within the last three months. 

He couldn’t ignore the problem anymore. “A relationship can’t stay together if there isn’t any trust. I’m sorry Changkyun, I just can’t bring myself to keep up that trust. I love you, I really do, but I’m so terrified that it will happen again.” As he watched Changkyun’s face crumple, it took every cell in his body not to run forward and embrace the boy, but to grab his coat and wallet and go to a hotel. That night, Jooheon had curled in on himself and sobbed. 

Every sob was ripped from his chest and caused physical pain. He had called his brother Hyunwoo, and the older immediately drove straight to Jooheon. Hyunwoo wasn’t a very snuggly person, but that night he held his little brother as the younger cried. He cried for the future he will never have with Changkyun, he cried for the friendship he had lost and had cared for so dearly. He even cried for the friendship with Hyungwon that would undoubtedly crumble as well.

So to see his crush Minhyuk walking down the street with his once best friend, his first love, he felt his heart break all over again. He slid back down to the floor and started to sob, the feeling in his chest so familiar and so, so sad. He didn’t hear the bell tinkle above the door as he let out another loud sob. 

“Jooheon, I forgot a- _Jooheon!_ ” Jooheon looks up in shock as Minhyuk rounds the counter and drops down to Jooheon’s level. Jooheon hiccups and panics as he tries to pull himself together, only to let out a loud sob. Then, he hears a voice that he hasn’t heard in two years. A voice that he missed so dearly, and still to this day tugged on his heartstrings. “Move, let me.” 

Changkyun kneels down in front of Jooheon and takes his hands off his face, replacing them with his own. “Jooheon, deep breath, look at me. That’s right, take a deep breath. Listen to my voice.” Jooheon gasps as his eyes tear up again and he tries to move his head away. “I-I can’t, Changkyun, I can’t!” He wails. Changkyun feels his heart break as he keeps his hands on Jooheon’s face. He hates himself for doing this to Jooheon, to his best friend. The love he could never get over, no matter how many men and women he dated. He’s not sure if it’s the sight of himself that set Jooheon off or what, he hadn’t seen Jooheon in two years, but he had a feeling it was more than just that. 

He could feel Minhyuk staring, and he risked a glance over. Understandably, he looked rather confused and worried. Minhyuk had mentioned before that he and Jooheon were friends, so the younger could only imagine the situation from Minhyuk’s point of view. “Jooheon, what happened? Breath with us, in and out, in and out.” Jooheon’s eyes opened and he sought out Minhyuk. Changkyun removed his hands and pulled Minhyuk in front of Jooheon instead. 

Minhyuk looked wildly at Changkyun as if saying _what do i do?!_ and he motioned for him to keep talking. Jooheon seemed to calm down some as Minhyuk took his hands and crooned soothing words to him. Suddenly, it clicked. Why Jooheon had lost it. He recognized the look on Jooheon’s face. The look of security he had when he loved someone. The look of pure, unbridled trust and love he was aiming not at Changkyun, but at Minhyuk. He was in love with Minhyuk, and the older was on a date with Changkyun. And Jooheon saw this. Of course he lost it. It must seem as though the entire universe is hell bent on ruining his heart.

At length, Jooheon’s breathing evened out and he regained his composure, looking absolutely mortified now. “Oh God I’m so sorry you had to see that… I don’t have panic attacks often, I swear!” Minhyuk just shook his head and rubbed Jooheon’s back comfortingly as he waited for them to explain. It was rather obvious now that the two knew each other. He had never told Jooheon what Changkyun’s name was. 

Changkyun decided to fill Minhyuk on their friendship. From best friends in elementary school all the way through High School and after, through when Jooheon had taken a few college courses online for botany to open a flower shop at the age of 20. He looked to Jooheon as he began to explain their dating history for any objection but the older just stared down at his folded hands as he drifted into his thoughts. “We dated for about three years after he opened his flower shop. We haven’t seen each other in two years. The breakup was my fault…” And he proceeded to tell Minhyuk the story of what had happened with Hyungwon. 

“I’ve never forgiven myself for what I did. For how badly I messed up.” It was obvious now that Changkyun and Minhyuk probably wouldn’t be dating after this, so he laid all the cards on the table. The younger looked over to Jooheon and spoke in a broken whisper “I’ve never forgiven myself for ruining the best thing that ever happened to me.” Jooheon heard these words, and he felt his eyes tear up with hot liquid as he glanced up at Changkyun quickly. 

Minhyuk stood there stunned, not quite sure how to react. He glanced over to Jooheon as the youngest explained, and noticed tears running down his face, eyes turned toward the floor again. Suddenly, Minhyuk felt a white hot anger toward Changkyun for making this sweet squishy baby cry. He was terrified when he walked back into the flower shop after forgetting a stupid card. He was glad for forgetting such a small thing, because he was able to calm the younger down. 

Minhyuk had felt a fondness for the younger ever since they first met. Jooheon was as sweet as some of his pastries, and so very kind. The older has had a small crush on the younger for two years now. Jooheon had never shown any interest, so Minhyuk decided to move on. He had never in the span of two years seen the younger sad. Terrifyingly angry once in a while, but never heartbrokenly sad. 

When they first met, Jooheon had acted very kind and professional. Though there was one particular week where Jooheon had enlisted the help of a friend to watch over the flower shop. Someone named Hoseok, who had told Minhyuk that something had come up and Jooheon had to take sick leave when he asked.That must have been when they broke up. 

Though, if the two had been friends for an estimated 18 years, Minhyuk could understand taking a week off to grieve. He couldn’t imagine how hard it would be if he and Kihyun had fallen in love and then Kihyun had cheated on him. He couldn’t fathom losing Kihyun. They had known each other longer than Jooheon and Changkyun knew each other, for they were older, but still. He would be heartbroken if he lost his best friend. 

So yeah, currently Minhyuk felt an unfamiliar rage toward the youngest male, for hurting someone as pure as his Jooheonny. He tried to reign it in, as he fixed Changkyun with his gaze. “Right, well I think I can take it from here, then. I’m sorry but I don’t think we’re going to be able to go on our date today.” Changkyun hesitated as he looked from Minhyuk to Jooheon, and nodded his head solemnly. “Okay. Goodbye, Jooheon. Minhyuk.” 

Minhyuk watched as Changkyun turned and left the shop, then turned back to Jooheon. He raised his hand and placed it softly on Jooheon’s cheek, lifting his face slightly. “Jooheonny, do you want to come with me to the bakery? I’ll give you a cupcake that’s as sweet as you are.” Jooheon chuckled weakly and stood up to lock the doors. 

The walk to the bakery was silent, as Jooheon walked beside Minhyuk, lost in his sea of thoughts. The pair walked into the bakery, to be greeted by a cheerful Kihyun. One look at Jooheon’s face had the words dying in his throat, a confused look passing over his features. Minhyuk mouths _later_ to Kihyun and steers a vacant looking Jooheon to a table. He spares one last worried look at Jooheon and makes his way behind the counter, dragging Kihyun with him. “What happened? Do I need to call Hyunwoo?” Minhyuk shakes his head and tells Kihyun the short version of what happened. “I got him to come with me here to give him something sweet, I know it won’t make him feel much better but I don’t know what to do!” 

Kihyun looks at his friend with pity, and looks out to Jooheon. The boy just sat there looking down at the table with an unreadable expression on his face. The poor boy looked like he had his heart ripped out of his chest and stuffed back in, which is exactly what happened. He decides to text Hyunwoo anyway, just to let the brother know what’s going on. 

A few minutes later, his phone pings. _Don’t let him out of yours or Minhyuk’s sight, he’ll need company. Their breakup wasn’t a good one, I was there the first night. I was ready to kill Changkyun. I’ll stop by after work, love you._ This shocked Kihyun, for Hyunwoo was not a violent person. For him to say this meant Changkyun had really destroyed his brother. And by the look on the younger’s face, it seemed that was very accurate. 

Minhyuk snatched up one of the cupcakes he knows Jooheon favors and carries it over with a cup of hot chocolate. He sets these down in front of Jooheon and sits across from him. Jooheon looks at the items in front of him and slowly takes the cup of hot chocolate, taking a sip. Setting the cup down, he sighs and peeks up at Minhyuk, who is watching this with a sort of relief on his face. A pang of guilt shoots through the younger’s chest, he didn’t mean to make Minhyuk worry so much. 

Jooheon raises his head fully and feels himself blush in shame. He’s only ever lost it like that three times in his life and he hates that Minhyuk had to witness it. “I’m sorry you had to see that. It was just… A shock… To see him after so long. And with you. Which only made it worse.” Too late, he realizes what he said at the end. Minhyuk tilts his head in confusion, puzzling over the last sentence. “What do you mean, with me?” Jooheon turns scarlet and takes a large bite from his cupcake. 

Realizing he won’t get his question answered any time soon, the older moves on. “Well, you don’t have to worry about seeing him anymore. I hate that he did that to you. Besides, I don’t want to date someone who’s cheated before. What if the same thing happens to me? No thanks.” A weight lifts off Jooheon’s shoulders as he hears Minhyuk’s words. Now all he needs to do is man up and tell Minhyuk how he feels, before the older snags another date. It’s not hard for him to do, he’s so beautiful that he has men and women lining up to go out with him. 

“Well… It wasn’t so much seeing him that hurt… Well, it was partly that, but I mean, it was seeing him with you that hurt me. It’s not your fault!” Jooheon hurriedly tells the man, seeing his expression. “It’s just... Okay, I've had a crush on you for about two years now and seeing him with you only made it seem like the universe hates me and wants to rub it in my face that the guy I like a lot right now is going out with the guy I was in love with for like 10 years.” He says this in a rush, and shoves the rest of the cupcake in his mouth, turning his eyes down to the table to avoid seeing the elders reaction to the words. 

If Jooheon had kept his eyes on Minhyuk, he wouldn’t see revulsion on the man’s face. Astonishment spreads across Minhyuk’s face for a solid 30 seconds, to be replaced by absolute joy. Suddenly, Minhyuk is laughing. Loud, uncontrollable barks are emanating from Minhyuk’s throat, causing Jooheon to jump and wrench his head up to stare in bemusement at Minhyuk. “Ah! Haha! Oh Jooheon, we’re both idiots!” Taken aback, Jooheon can do nothing but simply stare at Minhyuk. 

“Jooheon, I’ve had a crush on you since we met, basically. I didn’t think you liked me, so I never said anything.” Jooheon stares blankly at Minhyuk for a minute, as the words sink in. Eloquently, Jooheon stutters out “what”. Minhyuk sighs and leans forward. “I. Like. You. Lee. Jooheon.” Jooheon blinks a few times, then breaks into a wide smile with his dimples digging deep into his cheeks and eyes disappearing into crescents. It’s at that moment that Hyunwoo walks into the bakery, with a tense and worried expression painting his features. When he spots his brother grinning, his face immediately relaxed. 

Kihyun walks over to Hyunwoo and slips his hand into the elders, leaning over to whisper into his ear “Minhyuk’s got it. They just confessed to each other. And I thought you didn’t get off for another hour?” Hyunwoo sighs in relief and pecks Kihyun on the cheek. “I left early to make sure he’s okay. Last time… Was really bad. He didn’t mope around or anything, he just didn’t take care of himself. I got our friend Hoseok to take over the shop and forced him to take a week off, but he only threw himself into writing new songs and didn’t eat or sleep properly. It’s good he has Minhyuk to take care of him now.” 

Kihyun nods and looks over to the happy pair. Jooheon looks immensely happier than he did twenty minutes ago. “So… Do you want to get dinner with me?” Minhyuk asks. Jooheon suddenly realizes he left the roses laying on the table, forgotten. “Oh! Yes, I’d love to, but I left the roses I was cutting up on the table! Oh I hope they haven’t wilted… We can go as soon as I get them into water! Come with me?” Minhyuk nodded quickly and grabbed their coats as they ran out. 

Hyunwoo puffed and looked at Kihyun “he didn’t even see I was here… What a brat.” Kihyun chuckles at his amazing boyfriend and says “It’s almost time to close up, if you want to go and get some dinner of our own.” Hyunwoo laughs at his boyfriend and nods. 

Back in the flower shop, Jooheon unlocks the doors and makes a beeline for the work table. Sighing in relief, he sees the roses don’t look any worse than normal. He looks back over at Minhyuk and smiles. “Okay, let me just cut the last few stems and I’ll be ready to go. What are you in the mood for?” This time, Jooheon makes sure to grab his gardening gloves and sets to work finishing the last few roses. “Hmm… Maybe a western style restaurant this time? What do you think?” Jooheon hums in agreement as he concentrates on his roses. 

Minhyuk watches Jooheon concentrate and smiles fondly at the younger man. Jooheon always got a serious look of concentration on his face when he lost himself in his world of flowers and Minhyuk loved that he got to witness it. Fifteen minutes later, the pair was ready to go. They decide on an American burger place that just opened recently. It’s a little past 7 at night, so the place is somewhere between really busy and moderately slow. 

It a smaller building with black brick walls and rough wooden floors. Dark and comfortable, it was perfect for an official first date. They seat themselves in a pair of wooden chairs underneath a window, and take a peek at the menu. There are a lot of choices, and Jooheon is reminded of when he visited the states. 

17 years old, Jooheon and Hyunwoo had gone on a trip with his parents to Kansas City, Missouri for one his dads work things, and they had gone to a burger place one breezy day, to try out some of the American cuisine. Jooheon had gotten a simple cheeseburger with bacon, and it was the best burger he’d ever had. Fast food burgers just don’t compare. He hadn’t had a chance to try an actual restaurant dedicated to burgers, but he’s glad they had come here. 

Each burger had a funny name to it, and the pair chuckled at some of the more outrageous ones. They decide and order their sandwiches, and chat about random things, as they wait for the food to arrive. “Yeah, I remember when I opened the shop the floors had these god awful checkered tiles, and I just had to get them ripped out and replaced. When I saw the lily patterned tiles, it was a done deal. I didn’t bother looking at other designs.” Minhyuk nodded and appreciated how animated Jooheon looked when he was excited about something. 

Jooheon was a moderately tall man, with black hair that was almost always styled away from his face pushed back onto his skull. He had squishy cheeks that made Minhyuk want to just pinch every time he saw the boy. He did once, and the look on Jooheons’ face was _priceless!_ He had long legs with the best thighs Minhyuk had ever seen. One day, Jooheon had ran into the shop to grab something he had forgotten and he was wearing a pair of ripped up skinny jeans and Minhyuk thought he felt his soul leave his body. His button up black shirt tied in perfect with it and it took so much self restraint for Minhyuk not to run over there and rip them off the youngers body.

Tonight, Jooheon was still wearing a pair of his nice jeans that he kept only for work and his dark blue polo. A single rose pin adorned his lapel, tying the whole outfit together. Minhyuk was still wearing his date outfit, a pair of faded blue loosely fit skinnies and an oversized red and white striped sweater. Jooheon appraised his look, with his light addition of foundation to make his face look porcelain and a quick swipe of pink lipstick across his plump lips. 

The food finally arrives, and Minkyuk’s eyes widen at the proportion. “Oh! I’m definitely going to have to cut this in half… Maybe into thirds!” Jooheon laughed and grabbed the knife that they received with their other cutlery and begins to saw his burger in half. The place they had gone to in Kansas City was known for their bigger portions, and Jooheon had to take at least half of it back to the hotel because he couldn’t finish it. This burger was smaller in comparison, but still big enough. 

“Oh this is so good!” Minhyuk gushes around a mouth full of food.” Jooheon laughs and points at his mouth “it’s better if you slow down and actually taste it, hyung.” Minhyuk huffs at him, but still smiles. Jooheon tries a burger with a fried egg on top of bacon, lettuce and tomato, tying the burger together nicely with the medium rare meat. Minhyuk’s burger looks enormous. Mushrooms are poking out beneath the bun, situated over a medium rare angus patty with grilled onions and barbeque sauce adorning the underside of the top bun. 

Before they know it, two and a half hours passed and the restaurant staff are politely asking them to leave. Not quite ready to depart from the others’ company, so they decide to hail a taxi and sit near the river. There’s a 7-Eleven right on the edge of the river, so they direct the driver there. When they arrive, they pay the driver and thank him, then walk into the convenience store. “It’s still pretty cold out, I think I’m just gonna get some hot chocolate.” Minhyuk agrees and the two grab two large steaming cups and head to a bench nearby.

They sit in comfortable silence for a while, each breath puffing into the air in white smoke, each sipping on their hot chocolate. This is the most time the pair have spent together in one sitting. Normally, they would spend at most an hour in each other’s company. Minhyuk didn’t want to leave the bakery for too long, and Jooheon had no one else to watch the flowery without closing up, so they always just met in Jooheon’s establishment. 

The highway bridge is close by, and the sound of cars zooming down the bridge played in the background as the two watch the dark river. They’re bundled up in puffy coats, hats, scarves, and gloves so they’re quite comfortable. The weather hasn’t been near as bad as the previous week, at least not in the negatives anymore. 

“You know. It’s been years since I’ve sat down here by the river. When I was little, my mom would bring me down to the bank and we would sit and look at the clouds on clear days. She passed away when I was 15, so when the sky was clear I’d take a bus out to the river and lay on the bank and watch the clouds alone.” 

Jooheon looks in the distance with a faraway look in his eyes as he remembers those days. Young and excited to watch clouds with his mom. When his mother passed, it was the worst time in his life. Absolutely inconsolable, he shut himself in his room for three days. His room had its own bathroom, so he left for absolutely nothing. He didn’t eat for three days, and he only slept for a consecutive 8 hours total. He did nothing but sit and stare at the wall, not talking to anyone, not doing anything but occasionally get up to use the bathroom, but with no food or drink for three days the amount of times he had to get up and relieve himself lessened each hour. 

Minhyuk stares at Jooheon with his jaw slackened. He didn’t know Jooheon had lost his mother, the younger had never talked about his family, save Hyunwoo. The look on Jooheon’s face was heartbreaking; distant and sad. The younger seemed to come back to himself, for he jerked a little and peeked over to Minhyuk briefly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make it so depressing.” Minhyuk shakes his head violently and reaches out his hand to grab Jooheon’s vacant one. 

“No, don’t be sorry. I never knew you lost your mother, you never talk about your family really besides your brother. Actually, now that I think about it, I don’t know much about you at all save the fact you love flowers and you’re younger than me.” Minhyuk’s face heats up in shame. “I always talk the most don’t I… You never have a chance to talk to me about that stuff…” Jooheon chuckles and squeezes his hand. “I like listening to you. I don’t mind not talking so much, I’m not a very expressive person in the flesh. I’m really only good at emotions if it’s in a song. But I’ll tell you whatever you want to know, just ask it.” 

Minhyuk thinks this over. What does he want to know? “For starters, I want to know more about your family. You know literally everything about mine that I know, I want to hear about yours.” 

So Jooheon tells him. He tells him that when he was young he and his mother were best friends. When she died, he grew closer to Hyunwoo. They were always close, but now they only had each other. 

Jooheon’s father drank himself stupid when his mother passed, so it really was just the two brothers. When Jooheon turned 18, he moved out to Seoul and started botany courses. At 20, he opened his own Flowery. He hasn’t spoken to his father properly in 7 years, but the old man writes sometimes. Jooheon never reads them. 

Hyunwoo wanted to help him open his flowery, but he was never really a plant person. He preferred the arts. Specifically dancing. He’s been a backup dancer for a few famous K-pop celebrities, and was fairly well known in the music industry. Not famous by any means, but well known to famous people. 

Jooheon liked to rap in the underground during his free time. He told him how he and Changkyun had done it together, as the younger had introduced him to the scene. He hasn’t really rapped out there in a long time, since the pair broke up he spent less and less time there, trying to avoid the younger. 

When he got to the subject of Changkyun, he seemed to sort of skim over it, not talking much about it. He told Minhyuk about how his grandparents died when he was 11, and he wasn’t very close to them anyway. He doesn’t know his father’s parents, they lived too far away. 

Minhyuk just sits and listens to the tale Jooheon weaves about his life. The older had never heard Jooheon speak so much, it was admittedly Minhyuk doing most of the talking, as confessed. “There was one time when I was 17 where Hyunwoo and I had gone to this hot spring his friend told us about, and as we were sitting there an old man walked in stark naked and just took a seat by Hyunwoo." Normally this isn’t a strange thing, it’s a hot spring after all, but the man had sat very close to the older brother, and was looking at him a lot with these weird looks. 

“Hyunwoo was very bothered by this, obviously, so he scooted closer to me. When the old man didn’t back off, we pretended to be lovers, because that’s what brothers do, you know. When the man discovered this, he backed off and went to another pool. We sat there and laughed about it for probably 10 minutes.” Minhyuk laughed at this story and tried to picture it. A flustered Hyunwoo trying to shake off an old wrinkly pervert. 

The more Minhyuk hears about Jooheon’s childhood, the more he can understand how the brothers came to be who they are. Seeing their father go down that path, they decided they never wanted to be that helpless. So they got their lives together and started fresh. Jooheon now has a stable business, raking in a great salary for so young a person. 

“I haven’t let you say anything for a while, how did you go about opening your business? I know you said it was a dream and you and Kihyun started it together, but that’s really it.” So Minhyuk told the younger about the dream he had one night in which he had been a baker and had become a millionaire. 

The millionaire bit still hasn’t come true, but as soon as he woke he called up Kihyun. The pair of them liked to bake, you see, so there was no other person he would have wanted to open it with. Minhyuk’s recipes were absolutely a locked down secret. His family had passed them down from generation to generation, so he literally had them in a 3 inch thick safe. And his bakery is still the best in Seoul because of it. 

Kihyun had been rather reluctant at first to open the bakery, he had said just dropping everything and putting all their faith in the business was a big gamble, but after a few months of steady customers, the younger had retracted his reluctance. Two years later the business was still going strong, the place always busy in the earlier hours of the day. 

He told Jooheon about the first time he had met him, how when he was heartbroken over the death of his grandmother, the younger man showed him great kindness. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the younger, and how he had gifted him a probably expensive flower display for free. He told him about how the next time he came in he noticed more about the boy. How his dimples dug into his face when he smiled, and how softly he spoke at first. How he gradually got louder as they got to know each other better.

Minhyuk had never met anyone quite like Jooheon, and he told the younger so. “I mean, I’ve met nice people, but you’re just… An enigma. You sometimes have this look on your face like you’re the most angelic person alive, but then sometimes you get downright _scary_. Like that one time the customer tried to hustle you out of paying his bill.” Jooheon laughed at this as the memory plays in his mind. 

There had been a customer who had ordered a bunch of bouquets for a wedding, and the bill had climbed it’s way into the thousands. A few days after the wedding took place, the man came stomping into the store in a rage. It was purely a coincidence that Minhyuk had been there, for the older had just simply been bored and wanted someone other than Kihyun to ramble to. 

The man had stomped his way to the counter where a bewildered and slightly alarmed Jooheon stood, mid sentence. “I was just in here a few days ago for bouquets for my sister’s wedding, and I have a complaint.” Jooheon slipped his features into a professional mask, as he asked “complaint, sir? What seems to be the issue?” 

The man swelled like a bull frog and shouted at Jooheon “I received the flowers and they were all crinkly! I demand you refund me this instant!” Jooheon looks at the man blankly for a second, then asks “did you put them in water?” The man stares at him, red as a tomato, and spits “water them? I don’t know, they were in vases that were on the tables, they were put there the night before the wedding so they didn’t have to be bothered with later!” 

Jooheon’s expression shifts to understanding, and tells the man patiently “you can’t leave them overnight unrefrigerated and expect them to be fine the next day. I’m sorry, bu-” The man cuts him off with an angry shout of “I don’t care, I demand a refund right now!” 

Seemingly to have lost the end of his patience, Jooheon’s expression turns cold and unrelenting. “I’m not going to refund you for a mistake you committed. It’s not my fault you didn’t read the booklet I gave you on proper care. Had you read it thoroughly, you would have seen that on the _first_ page, it tells you that for an event, you are to keep the flowers in a refrigerated area until approximately 1 hour to the beginning of the event. I’m not refunding an order with an excuse like that, it’s ridiculous. If I were to refund every order that the customer messed up when they got home, I’d be out of business. So I am sorry for the inconvenience, but that’s my final word on the subject.” 

The man’s face purples in rage and he roars “you sir have lost yourself a customer! I’m going to tell everyone I know to never come here!” Jooheon had said nothing, and the man turned on his heel and left. Minhyuk waited until he left, and bursts into laughter. “Oh my God! Did you see his _face_?! Oh my God I thought his vein in his forehead was going to burst!” Minhyuk’s knees buckle with his mirth, and he goes down, actually rolling on the floor. 

Jooheon looks at the hysterical Minhyuk,, and starts to laugh as well. Soon, they’re both falling over themselves, positively howling. “He wanted me to refund a $5,000 order for _that_?! I don’t think so!” 

Minhyuk thinks back on the memory with fondness. Jooheon’s face had been downright terrifying. The older had never seen him so angry, and he hadn’t even been that angry! He shudders to think how the younger would look when he was absolutely irate.

“Oh are you cold?” Jooheon feels Minhyuk’s shudder through their shoulders, and wraps his arm around the older, bringing him in closer to share body heat. Blushing, Minhyuk hesitates, then molds himself to the younger, laying his head on the boy’s shoulder.

“This is nice. And no, I wasn’t cold, I was thinking about that idiot who wanted a refund on his flowers.” Jooheon didn’t need any more details, for he remembered the customer well. “Yeah, do you know his sister came in the next day and apologized on his behalf?” Minhyuk gaped and started laughing. “Good! He was an ass, talking to you like that. You’re too pure for that kind of accusation.” 

Jooheon blushes at the compliment and turns his head to look at Minhyuk more fully. “You know, for nearly two years I’ve thought of nothing but the thought of what your lips might feel like on mine.” Minhyuk reddens, and glances at Jooheon’s lips. “Oh, have you now?” Jooheon smiles and places his hand under Minhyuk’s chin, raising it to face him. “Yeah, I have.” Minhyuk’s mind blanks as he shifts his eyes between Jooheon’s eyes and his lips. Inching closer, Jooheon brings his mouth close to Minhyuk’s and waits to make sure he’s allowed. 

Unable to wait any longer, Jooheon leans forward and presses his mouth to Minhyuk’s. The kiss is slow and building, the feeling of molten rock coursing through each other’s veins. For two years, Jooheon has wanted to taste Minhyuk’s lips. Finally faced with the opportunity, Minhyuk tastes like cherry lip balm and euphoria. 

On the other end of kiss, Minhyuk is having similar thoughts. The older has had a crush on the boy since he first saw him, and the pair never thought they would be presented with this opportunity. Reflecting on this fact, Minhyuk revels in the taste of Jooheon. A little like eggs from his burger, and a hint of mint from his candies. 

Jooheon shifts his head to better mould their lips together, and the kiss deepens. Minhyuk feels the youngers tongue swipe against his bottom lip, and he accepts the addition eagerly. They battle for dominance, and Minhyuk gives in. 

They sit like this for what feels like an hour, then slowly pull apart for much needed air. Jooheon stares at Minhyuk’s lips, in a state of awe. He’s still in shock that the older likes him. “Wow… You’re an amazing kisser. How about we go back to my place and watch a movie?” Jooheon beams at the compliment, and accepts the offer to the older’s flat. 

They take a cab back to Minhyuk’s flat, and climb their way to the fourth floor. “Sorry, the elevator’s been down for awhile now. I’m starting to wonder if they’re ever going to fix it…” Minhyuk huffs sheepishly. Jooheon chuckles and says “yeah, I know. I live on the 7th floor.” Minhyuk halts and turns around to Jooheon, mouth agape at the other’s amused expression. “You do?! We’ve been neighbors this whole time…?” This last bit he mutters to himself, turning around and resuming his walk to his flat.

Finally, they make their way to Minhyuk’s door, and the older unlocks and swings it open. They walk in, and Minhyuk takes Jooheon’s coat and hangs the pair up on a rack situated next to the door. He tosses his keys onto a nearby entry table, and twirls back to Jooheon. 

“Welcome to mi casa! Let me set a kettle on the stove, you can go ahead and pick out a movie you wanna watch.” He points to a small three shelf bookcase by the entertainment center, and Jooheon’s mouth drops open at the sight of so many movies.

He walks over and kneels down to take a look. There have to be over a hundred movies on this bookshelf. He spots the Divergent trilogy, and takes out the first movie. He sets the movie beside the DVD player and turns to look around the living room some more. The walls are a light cream color, the only color allowed in these flats, with framed pictures adorning the walls of the older’s friends and family. There’s a taller bookshelf on the left side of the entertainment center, with the smaller one on the right. 

The taller bookshelf is mostly trinkets, with a few better known books. He has the entire Harry Potter collection in English, and Jooheon smiles at this, because he has the entire series in english as well.

There’s a brown couch against the farther wall and a couple red chairs facing each other against the other walls. He turns to look at the pictures against the wall, and smiles when he sees one of Minhyuk and Kihyun. They’re at an amusement park it looks like, and Minhyuk has his head thrown back in laughter as Kihyun laughs at something behind the camera. He looks at another one, and is surprised to see one of Kihyun and Hyunwoo together smiling lovingly at each other. He’s so happy to see his brother looking at another person adoringly like that. He deserves happiness.

A few minutes later, Minhyuk emerges with two cups of steaming tea. “I would have offered coffee, but I ran out. I’ve been too lazy to walk down the store and get some more.” Jooheon chuckles at the admission and takes one of the cups from the older. Taking a sip, Jooheon smiles at the taste of his favorite, English Breakfast. 

Minhyuk approves of the movie selection and pops it into the player. He grabs the remote and slides himself right up against the younger, who blushes at the proximity. The movie starts, and they lose themselves in the plot. 

It’s been a while since Minhyuk watched the trilogy, and he forgot how much he loved them. The first movie finishes, and Minhyuk rushes to start the second, and soon they’re finishing the third. Jooheon fell asleep somewhere around the middle of the second, and Minhyuk fell somewhere in the middle of the third. 

Jooheon wakes to a beam of light hitting him square in the face, and groans. Turning his head over, he feels a weight on his lap and looks down to see a sleeping Minhyuk’s head resting peacefully on his legs. He smiles down at the older and lifts his hand to card his fingers through the man’s hair. 

He realizes now that maybe he’s in love with this energetic man. This man who makes models everywhere cry with envy, and who’s personality rivals that of an angels. He feels the man stir beneath his fingers, but he leaves his hand on his head. Minhyuk looks up at Jooheon, and squints at him through the light from the window. 

He smiles groggily, and says “good morning. What time is it?” Jooheon reaches over to the coffee table and clicks his phones screen to life. “Little past 8 AM. You don’t have to work today, do you? I don’t open til 10 on weekends.” Now that he thinks about it, his weekends are so busy he never really sees the older. 

“I do but Kihyun said he’d take my shift this morning. We can hang out at your shop if you want. I can help you arrange your flowers.” Jooheon smiles gratefully at the older, and stands. “I’ll make breakfast, if you want to show me around the kitchen.” Minhyuk nodded and stood up as well, making his way to the kitchen. 

“You can use whatever you find in the fridge, I don’t really meal prep so anything in there is up for grabs.” He bends over and opens the cabinets under the counter to the right of the stove and tells the boy “you can use these pots and pans, I’ll do the dishes later when we’re done eating. The spices are up there,” he points to a cabinet next to the microwave above the stove, “and I don’t cook a lot of exotic recipes, so there aren’t a whole lot of spices.”

Jooheon smiles and turns to fish some ingredients from the fridge, and got to work. He scrambles some eggs and sets those in a dish, frying some rice and kimchi together.

Carrying the various dishes to the table, Jooheon calls to Minhyuk saying the food is ready. They sit down and settle into a comfortable silence as they eat. Finishing up, Minhyuk helps the younger carry the used dishes into the kitchen and sets them gently into the sink. “That was really good, you’re a good cook.” Jooheon beams and thanks the older. 

It’s rounding 9 AM, so Minhyuk gathers his and Jooheon’s coats and they leave the apartment. They climb up the remaining 3 floors and walk into Jooheon’s flat. When walk in, Minhyuk smiles at the living room. The room screams “Jooheon” and he loves it. There’s a desk against the wall by the balcony with a microphone sitting on it and a closed laptop. There’s a notebook and what look like a few loose lyric sheets scattered about the desk beside the laptop. 

There’s a plain black sofa against the back wall and an entertainment center across from it. There are two tall bookshelves on either side of the television, with books on every shelf all ranging from popular American ones to popular Korean ones, with some lesser known ones of both languages sprinkled in. He has the entire Harry Potter series in English, which Minhyuk spots with delight, and little trinkets scattered here and there in front of some books. There’s a dining room adjoining the livingroom and a small kitchen beyond that. 

There are a few picture frames above the couch so he walks over to examine them. He spots a picture of 5 men together, recognizing Jooheon laughing in the middle. He starts when he sees Changkyun laughing beside him, grabbing his arm as they face each other. 

“That was taken just after we started dating.” Minhyuk jumps when he hears Jooheon’s voice right behind him, and turns to face the boy. The younger has a sad expression on his face as he examines the picture. “I should have probably taken it down years ago, but I never did.” He points to the tallest man in the picture, who stands just beside Changkyun. “That’s the man Changkyun slept with, Hyungwon. The muscular man beside him is Hoseok, and you know Hyunwoo. This was probably like 5 years ago, so we look a bit different.” 

Minhyuk appraises the younger Jooheon, and agrees that yes, he does look much different. And happier, actually, so he tells the younger this. “Yeah. I had just gotten together with Changkyun, who at the time was the love of my life, and I still had Hyungwon as a best friend. I’m still friends with Hoseok, but he was always closer to Hyungwon so I don’t see much of him anymore. He comes by the shop sometimes to get flowers for Hyungwon since they just started dating, and he tells me how Hyungwon is doing sometimes, but I don’t usually ask. I don’t hate the guy, but it’s still awkward when we’re around each other, you know?” 

Minhyuk nods absently and turns to look at the picture again. He feels a pang of sadness for Jooheon, knowing that the older had such a horrible past. Poor guy just couldn’t catch a break. “Well, there’s no point dwelling on the past. I’m ready, if you are.” Minhyuk nods and they head out.

Stepping onto the first bus they come across, Minhyuk finds himself lost in thought. He’s never had a bad relationship, really. He’s had boyfriends who have broken up with him for stupid reasons, but to his knowledge he’s never had one cheat on him. He never wants to see that sad expression on Jooheon’s face ever again. He vows right then and there to always put a smile on the other’s face and love him forever. _Wait, love? Oh shit, I love him. Damn, when did that happen?_

Jooheon looks over at the older male, and notices the other’s distant facial expression. He waves his hand in front of Minhyuks face and stifles a giggle at the older’s startled expression. “Wha-?” Minhyuk looks up at Jooheon and sees the other’s smile. “What are you thinking about so seriously over there? You look like you’re contemplating an important business decision.” Minhyuk giggles and shakes his head. “Nah, I’m just vowing to never hurt you.” 

Jooheon blushes scarlet and stares at the older male in surprise. “You- huh?” Minhyuk giggles at the younger’s inability to speak, and nods seriously. “You’ve had a rough past, and I don’t like seeing you so sad. So I’m going to do everything I can to keep you smiling.” Jooheon can do nothing but just stare at the man, until the older smiles and points out that they’ve reached their stop. 

They walk to the flower shop, both lost in their thoughts. When Jooheon walks into the shop, though, he turns business like. “I’m going to go check the fridge in the back and make sure the bouquets back there ready for the customers to pick up later. If you want you can just chill out here while I’m in the back.” Minhyuk nods and the younger walks to the back. 

Minhyuk walks around the store and admires all the different flowers, flipping on light switches as he goes so Jooheon doesn’t have to mess with it later. About 20 minutes pass, and Jooheon emerges from the back, looking surprised when he comes back to a fully lit store. “Oh! Thank you, that was my next task.” Jooheon walks over to the doors and flips the Open/Closed sign to Open. “I just need to take inventory now, but I can do that while the store’s slow. 

A few hours pass, and Minhyuk decides to check in on Kihyun, since he’s so close to the bakery. He walks over and peeks into the bakery, seeing Kihyun with his back to the window, messing with some dough on the counter, from what Minhyuk can see. He walks into the bakery and announces loudly “have no fear, Minhyuk is here!” Causing the latter to jump violently. There are no customers in the place, so he didn’t feel bad for disturbing anyone else. 

“Minhyuk! Don’t scare me like that! I thought you were off today? Where’s Jooheon?” Minhyuk smiles at the concern in his friends face and assures him that the younger is fine. “We spent the night together actually, but not like that!” Minhyuk hurries to assure, seeing the look of disapproval on Kihyun’s face. 

“Good. What did you guys do, then?” Minhyuk smiles as he remembers the night, and gushes to the younger. “We went to this American burger place, then went and sat next to the river. He told me about his family and the guy I almost went on a date with, and then we went back to my place and watched the Divergent movies and fell asleep on the couch. He made breakfast this morning, which was really good by the way. We went to his apartment so he could get ready for work, and we live in the same apartment building!” Kihyun laughs at his friend’s excitement, and smiles fondly at the older. 

“Yeah, Hyunwoo has told me a little about his childhood, it doesn’t sound like a good one. He told me about Jooheon’s breakup too. It was rough from the sounds of it. I’m glad you two had fun though.” Minhyuk grins and nods furiously. “I think I’m in love with him, Kihyun. I’ve never felt like this before, and after only one date!” Kihyun laughs and adds “well you two have been friends for two years now? So you’re already comfortable around each other.” Minhyuk nods in agreement and asks the younger to make some hot chocolates, as the older nips behind the counter to grab some food.

15 minutes later, Minhyuk is walking back into the flower shop with two hot chocolates tucked between his arm and his abdomen, and a couple of plates full of different pastries balanced on his other arm. Thankfully, nothing falls as he carefully makes his way to the counter and sets everything down. “Oh, I didn’t know you were going to get food or I’d have come with you to help.” Minhyuk shakes his head and smiles at Jooheon. “Nah, I should have taken two trips since we work so close together, but I didn’t want to. But here, go ahead and pick what you want, I got a little of almost everything for variety.” 

Jooheon rolls his eyes at the typical lazy Minhyuk answer and smiles fondly as he takes a pastry. Well, it’s actually been fairly slow for a Saturday. Though, again, that could be due to the stupid snow. Minhyuk looks out the window front and sees the snow starting to pick up. “I was literally just out there and it was barely doing anything.” Jooheon laughs around his pastry as he watches the snow fall. 

Closing time finally swings around, so Minhyuk goes around and shuts off the lights in the refrigerators as Jooheon counts out the register. Gathering their coats and other warmth necessities, they walk out the door into the snow. Minhyuk raises his hand palm up to catch snowflakes as he waits for Jooheon to close and lock the doors. Turning around, Jooheon announces he’s ready, so the pair walk toward their apartment building.

As they near the building, they decide they don’t want to end the day just yet, so they make their way to Jooheons. As they walk into the flat, Minhyuk sighs dramatically and falls onto the couch with a flourish. “Ah, Jooheon-ah, I’m so tired! And I’m _starving!_ If we don’t eat dinner soon I’m going to wither away, I’m sure of it.” Jooheon rolls his eyes and pads his way to the kitchen to hunt through his food storage. 

“I don’t really have much in here, it’s grocery weekend. I need to go tomorrow. We can order something in, if you like. There’s a really good Chinese restaurant that will deliver.” Minhyuk agrees, so Jooheon leaves the kitchen and looks for his phone. 

After he finishes putting in the order, he turns on his PlayStation and opens Netflix. “Oh, it’s a Netflix and chill night, is it?” Minhyuk wags his eyebrows suggestively and Jooheon laughs. “You wish!” Secretly, Minhyuk agrees. He’d be lying if he’s never imagined what Jooheon would look like, horny and blissed out of his mind. 

They decide on something called The Haunting of Hill House, much to Jooheon’s reluctance. He read the description, and it looked like _nothing_ Jooheon would ever watch willingly and alone. 

The first episode starts, and he already knows he’s going to hate this show. Halfway through the first, he hears the doorbell ring and he screams. This causes Minhyuk to lose his countenance and starts to laugh hysterically. Glaring at the older, Jooheon stands and answers the door. The delivery man looks understandably wary and startled, then he sees the paused show. “Oh, man that show was creepy. Good luck and enjoy your food!” Jooheon gapes after the man, not in the least comforted. 

Minhyuk isn’t quite done laughing at his terror it seems, so he pointedly ignores the older, which only makes him laugh harder. He takes out the food and sets everything on the table, then walks to the kitchen to grab chopsticks. The meal usually comes with some, but he likes his stainless steel ones better. 

Minhyuk is still giggling, but obviously trying to stifle them, for Jooheon’s sake. He scowls at the older man, and grabs one of the rice containers, ripping it open. “Aw, Jooheonny, I’m sorry, don’t be mad.” Minhyuk gets onto the floor and crawls over to where Jooheon is sitting, back up against the couch. He gets closer and sticks his bottom lip out in a pout as he pleads for Jooheon to forgive him with his eyes. 

Jooheon glares at him, but he really can’t stay mad at the elder. They’re not even officially together and he’s already whipped. He sighs and grabs the other rice container, shoving it into Minhyuk’s hands without much force.

Minhyuk beams and turns to open his rice and grab a pair of chopsticks. Jooheon had ordered a real spread. Chicken and broccoli with fried dumplings, chicken lo mein and some General Tso’s chicken. Minhyuk loved everything in front of him, and he felt his mouth water in excitement. He takes his chopsticks and immediately starts to inhale food, causing Jooheon to look at the older in shock and amusement. Around a mouth full of food, Minhyuk garbles out “Wha? M’ ungry.” Jooheon chuckles and turns back to his food, playing the show. 

They make it through the first episode, with Jooheon only jumping and squeaking in fright twice. The second episode, however, is another story. The oldest sister discovers a litter of kittens, and as she takes a picture with her old polaroid, the flash lights up something in the background. Jooheon jumped when he saw it the first time, and he _knew_ he should have closed his eyes, but when the flash went off the second time he screamed. Then promptly felt foolish. 

Minhyuk giggles at each time Jooheon jumps or squeaks in terror, and leans over each time to comfort him. When they finally finish eating, Jooheon jumps up and forbids Minhyuk to pause the show. He bustles around in the kitchen, making every move slow to miss as much of the show as possible, only to come out to the show paused. 

Minhyuk looks up from his phone and grins mischievously. “I know you said don’t pause it, but what if you missed something?” Jooheon scowls and sits on the opposite end of the couch from Minhyuk, who had pulled himself up shortly after Jooheon went to the kitchen. “That was the entire point, as you’re well aware, I’m sure.” Minhyuk just giggles and presses play. 

Somehow, within the next few minutes, Jooheon finds himself on top of Minhyuk’s lap, burying his face into the elders neck. “I don’t want to watch this anymore!” Jooheon whines. “Awe, please, for me? I’ve been wanting to watch this for a while but I didn’t want to watch it alone.” Did Jooheon mention earlier that he couldn’t refuse this man? Well he can't. 

Sighing in defeat, Jooheon pads to his room to grab a blanket, scrunching it up and holding it close to his chest as he scoots in close to Minhyuk’s side and close to his face, should he need to make a quick move to hide his face. 

Jooheon falls asleep somewhere around the fourth episode, slumping further into Minhyuk and plopping his heavy head on Minhyuk’s shoulder. The elder doesn’t mind in the least, taking the blanket gently and draping it around the pair of them, falling asleep himself not too long after. 

Minhyuk wakes up with a dry, sandpapery mouth and smacks his lips together, grimacing at the taste. He feels a warm weight on his left side, and turns to peer down at a sleeping Jooheon. He discovers the younger drooling on his shoulder, and can’t find it in himself to care. He slowly moves himself out from underneath the younger, gently laying him down on the couch fully, as he stands and stretches out his limbs. He feels a few pops here and there in his joints, and waddles to the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

He sucks down a couple glasses, finally feeling moisture in his mouth again, and begins to search the cabinets for coffee. There’s a coffee machine, so logically there should be coffee, right? Wrong. 

“Sorry, if you’re looking for coffee it’s on my list for groceries. We can go down to the nearby Starbucks though, if you want?” Minhyuk jumps a foot in the air when he hears Jooheon behind him, not at all expecting the younger to be awake. “God, you scared the shit out of me. That’s fine, I just need to run home to shower and change and we can go. Sound good? I’ll go with you to the grocery store too!” Smiling at the elder, Jooheon nods and walks over to the counter, grabbing a glass of water for himself. His voice is low and scratchy from sleep, and Minhyuk finds he likes it a lot. Definitely a turn on. 

Jooheon locks the door behind Minhyuk, promising to meet in the lobby in one hour. Jooheon heads toward his room, stripping his clothes as he goes. When he’s in nothing but the skin he was born with, he hears a knock on the door. He could ignore it, but he decides to just grab his pair of sweats and throw them back on quickly. 

He opens the door with a jerk, an annoyed expression on his face, when he’s faced with Minhyuk’s fist hovered in mid air about to knock on his forehead. His expression turns to that of confusion, when he sees Minhyuk’s not even looking at his face. Minhyuk’s jaw has gone slack as his eyes wander over the length of Jooheon’s torso, drinking in the sight. “Oh…” he squeaks. 

Smirking in amusement, Jooheon waves his hand in front of Minhyuk’s face, causing the older to jump and blush scarlet in embarrassment. “Sorry, um, I left my phone on the table…” He gets out. Jooheon exhales in an understanding sound, and moves aside for the older to come in. “You always answer the door shirtless? Cause I can make a habit of dropping by unannounced.” Jooheon barks out a laugh and informs the other that he was naked, but didn’t think the newcomer would want to see that. Minhyuk has to wholeheartedly disagree. 

Finally rid of the elder, Jooheon resumes his stripping and steps under the warm water of his shower. He scrubs himself clean, and moisturizes his skin. Stepping out, he grabs one of his fluffy towels that he specifically paid extra for to be more soft, and pads to his room. He picks out a pair of snug jeans, not tight enough to be uncomfortable like he wears to the club, but not loose enough that he would look unshapely. He throws on his favorite pink sweater and begins to work on his hair, parting it and styling it up and out of his face. 

He still has fifteen minutes, so he grabs a notepad and walks around the kitchen, writing down what he needs to restock and what he thinks he wants for dinners and whatnot. He looks over to the coffee pot, and smiles as he writes down coffee first. He hopes he and Minhyuk can spend many of their mornings together like this one. 

Fifteen minutes later, Jooheon walks down to the lobby and spots Minhyuk sitting in one of the plush chairs by the large window. He sees Jooheon and pops up, beaming at the younger. They walk together in comfortable silence down the street toward the nearest grocery store. When they arrive to the doors, Minhyuk runs straight to the carts and hurriedly brings it over in excitement. “Our first shopping trip together! Oh it’s so exciting.” Jooheon chuckles and the pair walk into the store, consulting their lists. Minhyuk seems to have done the exact same thing Jooheon did, also adding coffee to the top of his list. 

They make it to the ice cream isle last, and Minhyuk is literally bouncing up and down as he tries to pick out which one he wants. “I don’t know if you particularly need ice cream… You seem hyper enough.” Jooheon says amusedly. Minhyuk ignores him and leans forward to open the door and grab out a cookie dough and caramel kind. Jooheon smiles, noting that they both like the same kind. 

As they make it to the checkout line, Minhyuk skips over to the clothes racks right across from the conveyor belts. When he gets closer, Jooheon calls out to Minhyuk to start separating their items. As they leave, they have around 10 bags each lining their arms. The walk home is slow and the bags begin to dig into their skin. “We should have called a cab…” Jooheon grumbles to himself. Minhyuk laughs and huffs out “it’s exercise, and I could definitely use exercise.”

They finally make their way to their apartment building, and begin the process of hauling the groceries to their floors. Jooheon curses every deity he can think of for the elevator being out of order. Seven floors is too many. 

They climb their way to Minhyuk’s door, and Jooheon sets down his groceries to take a quick break. He bends over and rests his hands on his knees, gasping. “Fuck… Those… Maintenance… Workers…” Minhyuk laughs and Jooheon scowls at him, grabbing his bags up. Minhyuk calls to him that he’ll be by when he finishes putting his groceries away, and Jooheon ignores him. Minhyuk just laughs at his sulking back. 

The pair fall into a pattern within the next few months. Jooheon would spend every spare moment with the elder, and Minhyuk spent a very noticeable increase in amount of time in the flower shop. Every day Jooheon falls more and more in love with Minhyuk, pushing the thought to the back of his mind thinking _it’s too soon…_ When in reality, Minhyuk is thinking the same thing. 

It’s a Sunday morning three months later, and the pair have made it a new tradition, not missing a single Sunday since the first grocery store trip. This time, Jooheon is supposed to meet Minhyuk at the elders door, so Jooheon hops into the newly fixed elevator, and feels himself being lowered to Minhyuk’s floor. 

Knocking on the door, Jooheon can hear music being played rather loudly on the other side of the door. About 30 seconds pass, and Jooheon knocks on the door harder, finally getting a response. He hears the music get turned down and suddenly the door swings open and Minhyuk throws himself at Jooheon. 

“I missed you! I’m almost ready to go, I just want to hug you.” Jooheon stumbles a little, but gets his arms around the elder and steadies them. “It’s only been like 24 hours Minhyuk, seriously. You could have just came up. You know I don’t mind.” 

Minhyuk turns his head and presses a quick kiss to Jooheon’s temple, humming in ascent. The elder runs into his apartment and grabs his wallet and keys, and they head down to the lobby. It’s just rounding April, so the air is cool, only requiring for jackets or in Jooheon’s case, hoodies. They make their way down to the new market that just opened up, much closer than the last. Making small talk as they walk, they pass a restaurant window bay and are so engrossed in conversation that they don’t see the three men sitting inside, staring straight at them. 

As they finish paying for their groceries, they head back to their flats with Jooheon wheezing at a stupid joke Minhyuk just told that was just so stupid its hilarious. The pair step into the elevator, blessing every deity known to man that it’s finally been fixed, and head up. 

Jooheon pecks Minhyuk’s lips and presses the 7th floor button, telling the older to head up when he’s finished putting his groceries away. As he approaches his door, he fishes in his pocket for his keys, finally extracting them and unlocking the door. He crashes into the flat, running to the kitchen to relieve his wrists of the heavy bags. Walking back to take off his shoes and close the door, he removes his hoodie and walks back into the kitchen to get the process of unloading the bags over with.

He goes about putting his groceries away, and just as he’s putting the milk into the fridge, he hears knocking on the door. Swinging it open, he steps aside to let Minhuk in, who has a very uncharacteristic look on his face. “Jooheon, we need to talk.” A feeling of dread drops into the pit of his stomach, as he remembers those exact words leaving Changkyun’s mouth. 

Minhyuk seems to see the reaction the younger has, and hurries to assure it’s nothing bad. Kicking himself at approaching the subject so rashly, Minhyuk walks over to the couch and throws himself on it. “Jooheon. I want to have sex with you.” 

Silence.

Jooheon’s eyes have all but popped out of his head as he stares at Minhyuk, astounded at the casual way he just flings that at Jooheon. He sees Minhyuk raise his head and peer up at Jooheon without the slightest hint of embarrassment in his countenance. 

“You- sorry, what?” Minhyuk giggles at Jooheon’s pink face, ears, and well everything that he can see. Even the boys arms had started to grow pink. “I said. I want. To have sex. With you.” 

More silence.

“Uh. Okay. That- that’s a little random?” Minhyuk sighs and stands up, crossing over to Jooheon. “I’ve been throwing myself at you for weeks, Jooheon. Like, literally. I’ve been throwing myself onto you as you’re laying on the couch and snuggling you a lot. I even kiss your neck as I do it! I don’t- do you not want to?” A note of insecurity creeps into Minhyuk’s voice, and the younger curses himself for being the cause of it. 

“No, I want to, I just wasn’t sure if you really wanted it… I wanted to make sure!” Jooheon defends as he sees the glare from Minhyuk. “Well I’m fucking sure, Lee Jooheon. I’m in love with you, and I’ve never been sure of anything more in my life.” And with that, he kisses Jooheon in a way he had never kissed the younger before. The pair back their way up to Jooheon’s bedroom, groceries long forgotten, and fall into bed, losing themselves in the scents of each other. 

Three years later, the pair would elope to Hawaii and get married, with Kihyun and Hyunwoo tagging along to make it a double wedding. They’ve never known this much happiness, neither of them. Minhyuk praises daily that he opened the bakery next to Jooheon’s little flower shop, changing his and Kihyuns lives forever.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, y'all! I really hope you like it. I tried to add a lot of cute stuff in here for ya. Let me know if you liked it! And let me know if there's something you'd like to see otherwise!  
> Visit my [Twitter](https://twitter.com/sharkgirl0116)!!! :D


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